


Blessed Chimeras

by Hyperionova



Series: The Pantherinae Series [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate AS universe, Alternate Fate, Alternate Universe, Baby, Jongdrian, M/M, New Parents, Protective Dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 18:27:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17472695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyperionova/pseuds/Hyperionova
Summary: Had Jongin not suffered such an ill fate at the end of Artful Sins...





	Blessed Chimeras

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [@jongdrian](https://twitter.com/jongdrian)

**One**.

He woke in the dead of the night, shoulders and back sore. Cracking an eye open, he squinted at the dark of the bedroom, searching for the source of the heart-rending noise. A strange feeling bubbled in his chest, something akin to fear or worry. Then he realized it was the baby monitor.

Sitting up, he glanced at the empty space beside him on the bed. “Adrian?” he tried calling, looking to the bedroom door that was left open.

With a heavy, dismayed sigh, Jongin climbed out of the bed and wended his way to the nursery, where he found Adrian, seated on the sofa, cradling Nemo in his arms.

The sound of Nemo’s cries had Jongin’s heart clenched. But he braved himself, like he always did, and powered through the agony that came with Ferberization.

“What are you doing?” he asked Adrian, turning the lights on.

The wolf looked up at him with sad eyes. “He’s… crying,” he muttered before lowering his gaze back to Nemo’s sobbing face.

“I know he’s crying,” said Jongin, crossing his arms over his chest. “But that’s part of Ferberization, Adrian. The doctor said that he needs to get used to soothing himself. You are not helping by coddling him every time you hear a sniffle.”

Adrian pulled that face to tell Jongin that he was hurting the man’s feelings. “My son’s in pain. I can’t sleep through that.”

“He is not in _pain_ ,” Jongin groaned and walked over to the sofa. “He needs to learn to calm himself without the presence of his father. He cannot sleep on your chest forever.”

“Yes, he can.”

Shaking his head, Jongin tore the baby away from Adrian and gently jumped Nemo a few times in his arms to calm him, patting his back and planting kisses to the baby’s wet cheeks. Almost immediately, Nemo stopped crying. He then blindly raised a hand, trying to look for something of Jongin’s to hold onto. His tiny hand pressed against Jongin’s chin, and his fingers curiously prodded into Jongin’s lower lip.

“All right,” Jongin whispered. “Let’s put you back into bed.”

Lowering Nemo into the crib, he made sure the baby’s socks were snug.

“Why do we have to do this?” Adrian then grumbled, rising from the sofa. “Can’t we just… I don’t know, _not_ do this?”

“It’s important for him to learn to control his senses on his own, Adrian,” said Jongin before he turned around to face his husband. “I cannot Ferberize two babies at once. So, please, cooperate. Do you want him to always rely on us?”

Adrian’s expression hardened, a displeased pout forming on his lips. “You’re right,” he then sighed. “I am sorry.”

Jongin smiled and brought his hands to the Lycan’s chest. “We should get to bed,” he murmured and pressed a chaste kiss to his husband’s lips.

The next morning, when Jongin roused to the gentle warmth of the morning sun blanketing his face, he smiled at the window and the chirping of the birds. They lived in a small, cosy house. It was nowhere near half as big as the manor he used to live in. All the luxury he grew up with had been abandoned the day he married Adrian. He had never been happier.

Nemo was a miracle. Their miracle. And every single day that passed with Adrian and Nemo was nothing but joyful.

He shifted on the bed to wake his husband. Then he froze, jaw falling slack when he found Adrian, still fast asleep with one arm dangling over the edge of the bed and the other’s hand secured on the baby’s back. Nemo was sound asleep, too, taking even breaths as he lay on top of Adrian’s shirtless chest that rose and fell steadily.

As much as Jongin wanted to yell at Adrian for not letting Nemo sleep through the night on his own, he found himself smiling at the beautiful sight before him. Nemo looked so serene and safe with his father.

~*~

 **Two**.

Adrian found Jongin in the nursery when he came back from work.

“Nemo, cut it out,” Jongin mumbled defeatedly from where he stood by the table, struggling to apply the baby lotion.

“What’s wrong?” Adrian asked as he walked up to Jongin and curled his arms around Jongin’s waist before pressing a kiss to the Pantherinae’s neck. The way Jongin shivered made him want to scoop his lover up into his arms and carry him to the bed right this instant.

“He developed a new habit,” said Jongin. “Watch.” Squeezing a blob of lotion onto his palm, he brought the hand to the baby’s chest. Nemo’s chubby hands sprung up at once and caught Jongin’s wrist before the baby ferally started licking the lotion from Jongin’s fingers.

“Why is he… doing that?” Adrian asked, resting his chin on Jongin’s shoulder.

“I have no idea. But he’s been eating the lotion like a maniac.”

“Is that safe?”

“Yeah, it’s non-toxic but it’s not  _meant_ to be devoured.” Exhaling heavily, he wrapped the baby up in a onesie before picking him up from the table. “Daddy’s home from work. Say hi to Daddy.”

Adrian took hold of the baby Jongin handed him and peppered Nemo’s chubby cheeks with a few kisses. He saw Nemo smile then as the baby lifted his tiny hands to Adrian’s face and played with the beard there.

“He’s getting so much better at recognizing us,” he remarked.

“You want to give him some milk? I have to take a shower,” said Jongin.

“Yeah, sure.”

Jongin gave Adrian a peck on the cheek before storming out of the room. Adrian smiled to himself when he realized Jongin smelled like the baby, baby food, lotion and milk.

“Are you hungry?” Adrian said to Nemo, bouncing the baby in his arm. Then momentarily settling Nemo in the crib, he hurried to the kitchen to get the baby’s milk bottle.

Returning to the nursery with the bottle of milk, he picked Nemo up and sank in the sofa. Nemo could always smell the milk, and it had the baby clawing at Adrian’s shirt by the chest, squirming and wriggling for his milk.

“Hold on there, champ,” Adrian snickered. “Your milk isn’t going anywhere.”

As soon as he caught the milk bottle’s nipple in his mouth, Nemo began to suckle hard and hungrily, a hand clutching at Adrian’s shirt collar. Even his little feet were twitching with excitement. Bowing his head, Adrian placed a kiss on each of those feet. A familiar twinge of sorrow pricked his heart whenever he thought about the fact that he would not get to see his son walk.

Even when the bottle was empty, Nemo was refusing to let go of it.

“There’s nothing left in there,” Adrian muttered and pulled the bottle away. “You drink too much milk, you know that? That’s why you’re getting so fat.”

Jongin would have chided him had he heard Adrian call their baby fat. He always said, _“He isn’t fat. He’s a healthy, happy baby,”_ whenever Adrian would tease Nemo.

Once the baby was fed and burped, Adrian laid him down in the crib and meandered his way to the bedroom. He heard the shower running in the bathroom. Then he entertained himself with the thoughts of Jongin taking a hot, steamy shower in there.

With the baby around, they had not gotten many opportunities for… those things. Jongin was always running around, making sure he was giving Nemo quite literally the best, and Adrian made sure that they both had everything they needed. Honestly, he did not know if he could have raised Nemo on his own. Jongin made it work. He was striving to give Nemo a normal life. Not that he would ever admit that there was anything _not_ normal with their baby. To Jongin, Nemo was the most perfect thing that had ever happened to him.

Unbuttoning his shirt, Adrian peeled it off his body and discarded it on the floor, starting for the bathroom. He stopped in his tracks to step out of his trousers and boxers before entering the bathroom. His eyes instantly darted to the shower cubicle. The walls were fogged by the steam from the shower. And behind it all was a tan, misty figure that had Adrian’s blood rushing to his loins.

He gave his reflection a brief once-over in the mirror as he ambled past it. Working at the lumber factory was not easy. He usually came home smelling like timber and with wood shavings sticking to his hair. His hands were more callused than ever from lugging wood around. But he was sure Jongin appreciated it all.

As he stepped into the shower, Jongin wiped the water from his face and turned around to meet his husband’s lustful eyes. “What are you—” he began to say before Adrian closed the distance between them and raised his hands to the sides of Jongin’s waist.

“I’ve missed you,” said Adrian, tilting his head down while Jongin’s looked up as the water dribbled down their faces.

Calling Jongin beautiful would be an understatement.

There was something extraordinary about the way he looked. Perhaps it was just Adrian and the fact that Jongin was his mate. But that supple bronze skin, rosy plush lips, curious dark eyes, soft pillow-like cheeks, and the way they crimsoned every time Adrian would go near him with a dirty intent… All of it drove Adrian to the edge of his sanity.

And right now, those torturous lips were staring at him, parted and glistening with water from the showerhead. His eyelashes were clumped together beautifully. His slender fingers that splayed themselves over Adrian’s haired chest were as gentle as ever.

“Remember the first time I kissed you?” asked Adrian, cupping one side of Jongin’s face that was starting to turn into a delicious shade of red.

Jongin lowered his gaze. “Y-Yes,” he let out.

“What did you… think about it?”

“What do you mean?”

“What was… running in your head?”

Jongin looked up at Adrian’s eyes again. “Nothing… I don’t know. I don’t remember. It was very brief, and it took me completely by surprise. I honestly couldn’t believe that it had happened.”

Adrian let his suggestive gaze wander down his lover’s naked body. So _beautiful_. There was something about the intimacy one could share with the person who bore him his child. They had created a life together. And this body had borne it, nurtured it, and brought it to this world.

His hand snaked around Jongin’s waist and landed on the small of his back, pulling his lover closer. As Adrian bowed his head and brushed a kiss to a corner of Jongin’s jaw, the Pantherinae’s hands slid up to grip onto Adrian’s shoulders. And when he lowered his lips to kiss the side of the neck—beard scraping the sensitive skin there—Jongin exhaled a throaty moan.

“Adrian,” he breathed out as Adrian lowered his hands to cup Jongin’s ass, dragging his lips up the Pantheriane’s neck and cheek.

Grappling his arms around Jongin’s body, Adrian pulled him close to his chest and gazed into those bashful eyes. His breathing quickened when the heat of Jongin’s skin touched his. Jongin parted his lips slightly and closed his eyes, as though he knew exactly what came next, and thus, he would yield to it.

Adrian leaned down and pressed their lips together, gently at first, to kiss the rivulets of water from those plump, hot petals. He pulled back quickly to see if Jongin was on board. He did not want to push Jongin to do this if the latter had been having a tiresome day with the baby.

But Jongin chased after Adrian’s lips as soon as Adrian withdrew. His eyes opened and frowned at Adrian when he realized Adrian had pulled away. Smiling, Adrian dipped his head once more and kissed Jongin’s mouth, tongue swiping along the lower lip before he caught it between his teeth and gave it a gentle suck.

Jongin’s grip tightened around Adrian’s shoulders.

“ _Adrian_ ,” he rasped, body arching into Adrian’s when Adrian sank his teeth into the skin of his neck and lightly nipped at it, beard grazing his collarbone.

Lifting his head again, Adrian kissed the gasp off of Jongin’s lips as his fingers glided down Jongin’s smooth back. He felt a moan rumbling in Jongin’s chest when his fingers brushed the protruding tailbone before they slid lower to stroke him along the cleft of his ass.

Jongin broke the kiss and fell to his knees, latching his hands to Adrian’s hips. Pressing his lips to Adrian’s tightly muscled abdomen, he gazed up at his husband. Biting his lower lip, Adrian took hold of Jongin’s head, fingers tangling themselves in his wet hair, and leered down at his beautiful mouth that kissed along the trail of hairs that led to the base of his hardened cock.

Adrian’s chest heaved, breath snagging, as Jongin brushed his lips along the swollen length and wrapped a hand around it while Adrian watched the beads of water trickle down Jongin’s face and body. His eyes almost rolled back when Jongin brought his lips to the slit of his cockhead. His tongue then darted out to flick along the slit.

Adrian caught Jongin’s jaw and made him look up. With a smirk, he said, “Don’t tease,” he said, running a thumb along Jongin’s bottom lip. “Please.”

Jongin swirled his tongue around Adrian’s thumb and sucked in for a moment before he wrapped his mouth around the tip of Adrian’s erection. The heat of Jongin’s mouth that blanketed around his cock immediately sent shivers down his spine.

“Oh, God…” he groaned, tossing his head back as he slowly slid into Jongin’s mouth, all the way until the cockhead pressed against the back of Jongin’s throat.

Pulling back, Jongin sank back in and started sucking Adrian off steadily, drawing his tongue along the underside of the shaft.

“Come here.” Adrian yanked Jongin up to his feet at length and kissed him sloppily as the water continued to run down between their mouths. Then pinning Jongin’s back against the wall, Adrian grabbed onto Jongin’s waist with both hands before he slammed their hips together. A whimper broke from Jongin’s throat as Adrian began to grind against him. The friction left them both gulping for breath.

Then turning Jongin around, Adrian pressed his front to the wall and went down to his knees. He left a trail of kisses over Jongin’s lower back before clasping a hand to a side of Jongin’s ass to spread it open. His tongue lapped the water that cascaded down Jongin’s back, licking along the puckered rim of muscles.

Jongin reached a hand back to slip the fingers into Adrian’s hair with his forehead against the wall while Adrian sucked on the sweet, warm opening. Jongin’s ass cheeks reddened where Adrian’s beard grazed them.

Standing back to his full height, Adrian prompted Jongin to turn around once more and crushed Jongin’s lips beneath his. When he lifted Jongin from the ground, the latter reflexively locked his legs around Adrian’s waist, keeping his hands clutched around Adrian’s nape.

Without disconnecting their mouths as they continued to kiss feverously, Adrian bore Jongin out of the shower cubicle and bathroom, and into the bedroom. Neither cared about the wake of water they were leaving behind on the floor.

When Adrian dropped Jongin down on the bed, the water pellets from their bodies and hair soaked into the sheets and dampened them. Jongin did not unwrap his legs that were still fastened around Adrian’s waist as he hungrily kissed Adrian, tongue sweeping over Adrian’s, teeth weakly tearing at his husband’s lips. The heat of their bodies was rapidly drying the water that was glistening on their skins, replaced by a sheen of sweat.

Adrian wrested his lips from Jongin’s desperate kisses to walk them down Jongin’s neck and chest. Securing them around his nipples, Adrian sucked on them until they hardened and purpled under his tongue. He then slithered low, pelting his mate’s belly with searing kisses. The noises Jongin’s mouth made had Adrian’s heart thundering in his throat.

He went low and paused, blinking languidly at the scar along Jongin’s stomach. He raised his gaze to look at Jongin while he peppered the scar with more kisses. Jongin’s cheeks turned red under his softly tan skin and so did his ears.

He pulled Adrian back up for a hasty kiss. “I want you inside me… now,” he gasped against Adrian’s mouth, running his hands up and down the Lycan’s back.

But before Adrian could act upon the request, the baby monitor went off.

They froze in each other’s arms for a moment, unsure of what to do next while Nemo screamed through the baby monitor.

“He’s probably pooped his diaper,” said Jongin, sighing.

Adrian groaned as he climbed off of Jongin and fell to the bed next to him, throwing an arm over his forehead. “I love Nemo, which is more than life itself. But he sure does know how to turn off a show.”

Jongin climbed out of the bed and wandered into the bathroom before he returned shortly after with a bathrobe. Fastening the belt around his waist, he stared at his husband, who was still lying buck naked, and still very much turned on with an arm tucked under his head.

“Maybe a cold shower would help?” asked Jongin.

Adrian rolled his eyes. “I’ll help myself. You go change his diaper. I’ll take care of dinner tonight.”

Smiling, Jongin leaned over the edge of the bed and gave Adrian’s pouting lips a kiss. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“I’ll hold you on to that,” muttered Adrian. He caught the back of Jongin’s head to pull him down for another firm kiss before letting him go. Once Jongin was out of the bedroom, and Nemo was no longer crying through the monitor, Adrian stepped into the shower and tended to his very hard friend with the red-hot memory of the way Jongin was spread out under him just a minute ago.

~*~

 **Three**.

As soon as he got off the phone with his mother, Jongin sauntered into the living room to find out what that ruckus was all about and what had Adrian and the baby giggling.

He found the massive man sprawled over the couch, legs dangling over the armrest with the baby seated on top of his chest, naked and still unbathed.

“Adrian,” Jongin called in a grave tone. “What are you doing? You were supposed to give him a bath.”

“Sorry,” said Adrian, not sounding the slightest bit of apologetic. He had his hands clamped around the baby’s wrists. “Look at this. He likes it when I do this.”

He yanked Nemo forward before carefully propelling him back. Nemo’s mouth stretched into a wide grin as his father rocked him on his chest. He then giggled, laughing and cooing so loud that it took Jongin aback.

“Wow. I’ve never seen him laugh… like that,” he remarked.

“Right?!” Adrian tipped his head back and over the armrest to beam at Jongin. “He’s so beautiful when he smiles. Like you.”

That made Jongin’s cheeks grow hot. “He still needs a bath,” he grumbled and knelt by the couch. “And so do you, wolf.” Wrapping his hands around the underside of Adrian’s jaw, Jongin bowed his head to kiss his husband’s mouth upside down. They both smiled into the kiss.

When Jongin lifted his head again, he looked at their baby, who was now playing with his winkle, tugging at it like it amused him with one hand, while the other was scratching his father’s beard. Jongin noticed that as the baby grew older by the day, Nemo loved to feel everything around him. He had the ability to neither hear nor see. But all of his other senses were heightened. He often realized that it was meal or milk time as soon as Jongin brought the food into the room. He always knew when his father was home. He could already distinguish between Jongin and Adrian. And he loved touching Adrian’s beard as much as he loved feeling Jongin’s cheek.

“My mother said that she wants to drop by to meet Nemo next week,” he informed Adrian.

The Lycan sat up, gathering the naked baby in his arms before he turned to frown at Jongin. “Really?”

Jongin rose to his feet and perched on the armrest. “Don’t worry. She’s going to like you.”

“How would you know that? _You_ didn’t like me in the beginning.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is. And that’s not your fault. I literally broke your nose and then kissed you on the same day. I have screwed things up with you from day one.”

“Well,” Jongin said with a coy smirk as he stroked the back of their son’s head. Nemo’s eyes widened with curiosity at the sudden touch. “You didn’t screw up one thing for sure.”

~*~

 **Four**.

“When are they going to be here?” inquired Adrian from where he sat on the couch with a big bowl of chips in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other.

Jongin adjusted the hat around the toddler’s head before tightening the strings of the baby mittens. “They should be here any minute now,” he muttered, struggling to keep Nemo seated still on the credenza. He screamed out a giggle when Jongin tickled his tummy. His little nose was constantly twitching to the foreign smell of snow. Nemo’s first snow.

Winter this year had been brutal. Snow blanketed the ground in layers, and the icy wind was brain-numbing. But the air was crisp with the fresh smell of snow. And Nemo was acutely aware of the change in the atmosphere ever since he woke up to the snow day this morning.

“We have to keep a close eye on him,” said Jongin. “I love the triplets, but they are a bit boisterous. And they always look at Nemo like he’s an experimental guinea pig or _Play-Doh_ that they can play with.”

Adrian laughed at that. “They’re kids. They’re curious.”

“I know,” Jongin sighed, picking Nemo up from the credenza to settle him in his pram. “But Nemo doesn’t understand what’s going on around him. He gets confused and flustered because he can’t figure out why there are so many hands touching his hair.”

When he plumped on the couch beside his husband, Adrian threw an arm around his shoulders and drew him close to kiss him on his temple. “Nemo will be fine.”

Jongin smiled up at the Lycan. “Remember when _you_ were the one who was always so paranoid about something happening to him?”

Setting the bowl and the beer on the coffee table, Adrian shifted on the couch to face Jongin. “I was worried because I… thought he was not like the others, so I shouldn’t treat him like the others. I had to be extra cautious. I was always so nervous. But you… You handled all so… calmly and well… because you accepted him just the way he is right from the moment he was born. You never thought of him as… not normal. And honestly, I think I would have… fucked up so bad if you hadn’t… been here for him.”

“Don’t say that,” muttered Jongin, resting his head on Adrian’s shoulder. “You’re a great father. And you would have been a great father with or without me here.”

They heard a car pull up their driveway. Rising from the couch, Jongin hurried to get the door with a wide grin plastered to his face. He saw his brother climb out of the car with a grouchy look on his face.

“ _Snu! Snu!_ ” one of the triplets cooed when Kai unbuckled him from the baby seat in the backseat. “Daddy, _snoooooo_!”

“I know, Dyn,” groaned Kai as he released the jumpy toddler down to the ground. Jaedyn scampered past the snow at once with wild excitement.

Kai grabbed Jaevonn next. Jongin knew it had to be Jaevonn because he was the quietest baby among the triplets. They had just learned to talk, but they had started to walk a year ago. Now, they were running.

Sehun exited the car before he picked Jaecen up. “Hey, Jongin,” he greeted as he approached Jongin.

Jongin gave him a small wave of his hand. “Why does he look like he swallowed a pill?” he asked, jerking his chin toward his brother, who was trying to grab hold of Jaedyn’s hand.

“ _Nu_!” Jaedyn screamed at his father and ran away, refusing to let Kai take him inside.

“Jaedyn, you come back here right this instant!” Kai yapped. “Or I am tying you to a tree and leaving you behind for Bigfoot to eat! And your Papa just fed you lots of meat, which means you’re fat and delicious and juicy right now! And then guess who’s going to get all of your toys! Nemo!”

That stopped Jaedyn dead in his pace. He looked up at his father with wide, horrified eyes. Then holding his gloved hands together in front of his chest, he trudged over the snow wobblily. “ _Nu_ , Daddy,” he whispered weakly, lifting a hand to hold his father’s. “Toys,” he mumbled, tears welling up in his eyes. “ _Nu_. _Nemu._ ”

“Good,” Kai growled and grabbed Jaedyn’s hand before yanking him toward the house.

“He wanted salmon. I ordered steak,” said Sehun to Jongin. “So, he’s being a bitch about it now.”

“You guys fight over… salmon?” Jongin asked, blinking. He could not remember when the last time was that he and Adrian had fought over anything.

“And white socks and contemporary furniture and hippies,” Sehun mumbled, rolling his eyes. “Your brother is also a very big racist.”

Jongin laughed. “Come on in.”

“Jace, say hi to Uncle Jongin,” Sehun told the toddler he was bearing in his arms.

Jaecen took one look at Jongin and quickly hid his face in the crook of Sehun’s neck. _“Daddy,”_ he whimpered.

“No, that’s not Daddy. That’s Daddy’s twin brother.”

“Still confused about who’s who?” Jongin chuckled, stepping aside to let them in.

“I think your hair confuses them. It’s not the same colour as Kai’s.”

Jongin turned around again to greet his brother while Adrian welcomed Sehun. Kai walked up to him, gripping Jaedyn’s hand with one hand—the boy trying to keep up with his father’s strides—and Jaevonn’s with the other.

“Hey,” Jongin told him before leaning in for a hug. “You look… exhausted.”

“I need a vacation,” sighed Kai and entered the house. “Hey, Adrian,” he greeted the man curtly.

Adrian offered a stiff smile and a nod of his head.

“Oh, there he is,” Kai chimed as he hurried over to the pram. Dropping to his knees, he took hold of Nemo’s hands. Nemo’s eyes ballooned, and he shuddered. Although he had met Kai before, he did not see Kai frequent enough to be familiar with his scent. But he also did not seem like he was freaking out.

As Kai fawned over Nemo, Jaedyn stood there with his shoulders squared, chest puffed out and lips pouting angrily, eyes glaring at his father who was calling another baby cute.

“Everything okay at home?” Adrian asked Sehun, rubbing a hand up and down his little brother’s back.

“Yeah. Everything couldn’t be better,” said Sehun with a smile. “We’re tired all the time, but… we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

For the rest of the day, Jaedyn kept close to Kai, clinging to the man, as though to make sure Kai would not go anywhere near Nemo.

When they finally decided to let their children play in the snow, they swaddled up and stepped outside. Jaecen leaped into the snow and tossed a handful of the powdery coldness at Jaevonn. Giggling, Jaevonn retaliated with a tiny snowball.

Jaecen was making snow angels with Kai.

Eventually, Jaevonn and Jaecen ganged up on Sehun.

Jongin stood on the porch with Nemo in his arms and watched the triplets run around, laughing and playing as they wished.

He then felt a warm, strong arm snake around him from behind. He looked up at his husband with a sad smile. Adrian brushed his lips on top of Jongin’s head.

“What is it?” he asked in a whisper.

“Maybe you’re wrong,” muttered Jongin. “Maybe I… do want him to be like the other kids.” Upon the confession, he turned and buried his half of his face in his husband’s wide chest.

“Oh, Jongin,” Adrian exhaled. He then pulled back and retrieved Nemo from Jongin’s arms.

Lowering to a crouch with an arm secured around Nemo, Adrian picked up a lump of snow and pressed it into Nemo’s gloved hand. Then pressing his lips lightly to his son’s cheek, Adrian said, “Snow.”

Nemo shivered, balling his hand around the snow.

Jongin could not help but smile at the intrigued look on his child’s face.

And then Nemo stuffed the snow into his mouth.

“No!” Adrian yelped, immediately sticking his fingers into Nemo’s mouth to take the clump of snow out. Nemo, not realizing how cold snow was before, convulsed with shock.

Jongin broke into a laugher despite himself.

“Uncle _Aweeyan,_ ” called Jaecen, walking up to Adrian. “Play. _Nemu._ ” He handed Adrian a snowball before he hurried back to Jaevonn and Sehun.

~*~

 **Five**.

“I knew playing in the snow was a bad idea,” Adrian said anxiously, pacing a hole into the hospital floor. His bloodshot eyes were blinking too many times per minute to keep the tears from showing.

Jongin rose from his seat to console his husband. “Adrian, it’s just a small cold. The doctor said he’d give a him a shot, and everything will be all right.”

“His nose got all red,” Adrian mumbled, as though he were not even listening to Jongin, as he continued to stride along the hallway, rubbing his beard. “He cried. He was so hot.”

“Adrian,” Jongin tried calling.

“What’s taking them so long? Fuck.”

He did not calm down until Nemo was brought back to him and his son was safe in his arms again. Nemo looked perkier than he was this evening.

“You okay, baby?” Adrian asked the child that sleepily rested his head on his father’s shoulder, an arm wound around Adrian’s neck. “You gave me quite the scare for a while there.” He hugged Nemo tightly, nuzzling into the Nemo’s neck to sniff him.

Jongin shook his head and leaned it against Adrian’s arm. “Children are tougher than you think, Adrian. _Nemo_ is tougher than you think.”

Adrian sighed. “You’re right. I don’t know why… I just want to be there for him.”

“And you will be.” Because when it was all said and done, being there for your children was what made you a good father.

That night, Adrian stayed up all night and looked after Nemo. From time to time, Jongin noticed the tears in Adrian’s eyes whenever Nemo would cough or sneeze.

~*~

 **Six**.

Adrian was not entirely sure of what he was waking up to. But _God_ , it felt good. At least his body and brain told him that it was good.

His eyes stayed glued, but his senses were wide awake. Blood coursed in his veins with a fiery ferocity. His heartbeat quickened, and his chest began to heave laboriously.

The warmth and wetness that swirled around his cock had his eyes rolling all the way back. His hands blindly caught and clutched at the sheets while his head was tossed back against the pillow. He slowly bucked his hips up to thrust further into the hot, tight cavern that was wrapped around his cock.

“Jongin,” he moaned gutturally, a hand reaching for Jongin’s head. His finger slithered into the silky strands of hair before tightening around them. Holding Jongin in place then, Adrian propelled his hips upwards, sliding in and out of Jongin’s mouth.

When he finally drew his eyes open, he drowsily looked down at the beautiful mess between his legs. As Jongin brought a hand to Adrian’s abs, the wedding band stung the Lycan’s skin. What a wake-up call…

Withdrawing after a while, Jongin knelt up and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand before he crawled forward and straddled Adrian. Walking his fingers down the hairs on Adrian’s chest, Jongin shyly stared into the man’s eyes.

“I’m afraid you’re going to be late for work today, wolf,” he told his husband with a coy smirk.

Adrian exhaled a shaky breath, pinning his hands to Jongin’s waist as the Pantherinae descended on his cock that slid into his stretched, lubricated opening almost effortlessly.

“Wow, you’re… prepared,” Adrian commented.

That turned Jongin’s face red. And the thought of Jongin fingering and playing with himself made Adrian harder than he already was.

With discomfort twisting in his face, Jongin began to rock his hips. Adrian let him go on his own pace, letting out a groan every time he felt Jongin clench and throb around him.

As he edged toward his climax, he grabbed the sides of Jongin’s torso and plopped him onto the bed before mounting him. Claiming Jongin’s mouth for a passionate kiss, Adrian pinned his lover’s hands to the headboard with one hand while the other slipped under Jongin to grip his back, so that he could hold the Pantherinae in place as his cock started to swell inside him and knot him. Jongin sank his teeth into Adrian’s shoulder to muffle his screams.

~*~

 **Seven**.

Jongin was not onboard with the whole home-schooling Nemo idea. He wanted Nemo to go to a school where he could meet new people, learn more and make a lot of friends.

Adrian, on the other hand, was totally okay with home-schooling his son. He did not like the idea of not being around Nemo while he was at a school, away from Adrian’s sphere of protection. He could be bullied. He might not be comfortable. He would be agitated. And who knew, there could even be some randy dogs looking to imprint on a beautiful boy.

If that day ever came, Adrian was sure he’d put a fist in that Lycan’s head. Nobody would be good enough for his boy. Nobody.

“But it’s a special school for special kids, Adrian,” Jongin said, trying to convince his husband. “He would fit in there. He’d have teachers helping him out. He’d learn to go to a school. He’s not the first person who’s deaf and blind. They can help him.”

“We can do it better,” Adrian argued.

Nemo sat in his wheelchair in the corner, quite aware of the fact that his parents were fighting about something. He could feel all of the heavy stomping and loud voices resounding on the walls.

“Maybe we should ask what _he_ wants,” Jongin said at last, crossing his arms over his chest. “We can’t just keep him in here forever. He’s turning eleven. He has to go to a real school. He has to have friends. I don’t want him to grow up like…” He paused for a moment as he thought of all those lonely years he had spent in the manor with only Sehun to call his friend. “Me.”

Adrian frowned then. With a big sigh, he walked over to Nemo and crouched to write on Nemo’s arm. _DO YOU WANT TO GO TO A SCHOOL?_

Teaching Nemo to spell was not easy. Jongin and Adrian had spent almost all of Nemo’s early years making sure that he knew at least one way of communicating. That had required a lot of time, effort and external tutors and professionals.

Nemo’s lips stretched into an excited smile. He nodded his head, a hand grabbing onto his father’s shirt collar. Just the way he always did since he was a baby.

Adrian lowered his head dejectedly. “All right. If you both think that’s the best for you…”

Jongin snuggled up at Adrian’s side and rose to plant a kiss on Adrian’s bearded cheek. “It’s about to time we teach him to soar, Adrian.”

~*~

 **Eight**.

When first Nemo told Jongin that he had a crush on a boy at school, he was only fourteen. It had surprised Jongin, to say the least. Nemo had found himself some friends, too. Two of them were deaf. One was mute.

As he sat at the dining table, he told Jongin all about the cute classmate he liked. _TOUCHES ME ALL THE TIME,_ Nemo wrote on Jongin’s arm. That was not a comforting detail. _HIS NAME IS SKIP. HE IS SHY. BUT HE IS OKAY WITH WRITING ON MY ARM. HE LIKES PUDDING CUPS. HE IS TICKLISH ON HIS NECK. MY FRIENDS TOLD ME THAT HE HAS RED HAIR, PINK CHEEKS, LOTS OF FRECKLES, A SHARP NOSE, GREEN EYES, PALE SKIN, AND A DOG NAMED OTIS. HE IS SO CUTE, PAPA. AND HE IS THE SMARTEST IN THE CLASS._

Chuckling softly, Jongin wrote back on Nemo’s arm. _SOUNDS LIKE THE WHOLE PACKAGE. SO, DOES HE LIKE YOU?_

Nemo’s cheeks crimsoned immediately, and he bit his lip. _WE ARE FRIENDS. BUT I DO NOT KNOW._

Jongin ruffled his son’s hair.

Then Nemo wrote again. _PLEASE DO NOT TELL DAD._

Jongin blinked. _WHY NOT?_

_HE WILL NOT BE OKAY WITH IT. HE WILL GET ANGRY._

Nemo was right. Adrian would definitely not be okay with it.

Jongin, however, thought that it was incredibly sweet and adorable that his son had a crush on a boy at school. Sadly, it did not last very long. Skip moved to another country and had to leave the school two months later, which had left Nemo devastated for weeks. He would not come out of his room, and he ate without an appetite. Whenever Adrian asked what was wrong with him, the boy would say nothing.

~*~

 **Nine**.

The following year, Jongin found Nemo grinning to himself from where he sat at the kitchen counter with a braille book in his hands, which he was not reading. He did not even notice Jongin’s sudden presence until Jongin gave the back of his head a light stroke.

He quickly lifted the book and let his fingers poise over the pages, pretending to read them.

Jongin grabbed one of his arms and wrote, _WHO IS HE?_

He watched Nemo’s ears darken into a shade of pink as his face turned into a florid complexion. He shook his head immediately.

 _I WAS YOUR AGE ONCE, TOO, NEMO._ Although, Jongin never had a lot of crushes. In many ways, Adrian had been his first. _AND I KNOW YOU._

Nemo took a heavy breath. _NOTHING, PAPA._

_YOU ARE LYING. I CAN SEE IT IN YOUR FACE._

At length, Nemo conceded that a boy was flirting with him yesterday at the coffee shop he and his friend, Brie went to for some pastries. Jongin’s eyes blew up with shock. _HOW OLD WAS THIS BOY,_ he asked in a panic.

_16._

Oh, thank God.

_WHY DO YOU THINK HE FLIRTED WITH YOU?_

_BRIE SAID SO. HE FUMBLED AND WAS FLUSTERED AND WOULDN’T TAKE HIS EYES OFF ME. HE EVEN ASKED MY NAME._

_AND DID YOU ASK HIS?_

_NO._

Jongin sighed. He supposed Nemo was at that age where even the wind could excite him. And he could not exactly shield Nemo from these experiences. They might be one of the best experiences he’d get.

But Adrian was not going to be happy about this.

A few weeks later, Nemo gathered both his parents in the living room one evening once Adrian was back from work. He looked tense, shaking in his shoes.

He handed them a piece of paper with typed letters.

_I have a boyfriend. His name is Garrett. He is a Lycan, a sophomore, and he works part-time at a coffee shop in Harvington. He is a very nice boy. I would like you two to meet him._

Jongin’s heart stopped for a beat before he slowly looked up at his husband, fretting a rancid reaction.

Adrian gawked at the paper for minutes, eyes almost burning holes into the sheet.

Jongin gently raised a hand to Adrian’s shoulder. “Adrian?” he called in a low voice.

Adrian crumpled the paper in his hand and stared at the floor now, jaw wound tight and eyebrows furrowed into a scowl.

“Calm down,” Jongin muttered, stroking his husband’s arm. “He’s young. He’s bound to want… these things, isn’t he? I say we be evolved about it and give this boy a chance. I don’t think we should get mad about this, Adrian.”

After several minutes, Adrian’s expression softened, but he still did not seem happy in the slightest bit. He looked up at his son, who was sitting on the couch with his heart in his mouth.

Taking Nemo’s arm, Adrian wrote, _THAT IS NICE, NEMO. BRING HIM OVER. I WANT TO MEET HIM._

Jongin smiled when Nemo smiled. “That’s really evolved of you,” he told his husband.

Adrian scowled at him. “I want to meet him and bite his head off.” He jolted up to his feet and stormed out of the living room, leaving Jongin to sigh disappointedly.

~*~

 **Ten**.

Perhaps a lanky boy with glasses and an oversized ‘GO WEASELS’ sweatshirt was not what Jongin had pictured when Nemo said Garrett was a Lycan. The boy had a mass of curly blond hair and was shivering in his pants when Jongin and Adrian got the door.

“Weasels?” Adrian asked, glowering at the boy.

The boy stammered nervously, looking up at the taller, way bigger man. “I-It’s… my school’s mascot… Uh… I’m Garrett!” he rasped and held a hand out.

Adrian cocked an eyebrow at him. “So, _you’re_ the big stud that’s courting my boy?”

“Adrian,” Jongin chided softly and yanked the man aside. Smiling at Garrett, he welcomed the boy into the house. “It’s really nice to meet you, Garrett. I’m glad you decided to join us for dinner tonight. Nemo has been telling me so much about you.”

Adrian turned to Jongin with a scowl. “He has?”

Jongin ignored him. “I’m Jongin and this is my husband Adrian. Nemo’s getting ready. He’ll be here in a second. Come, sit.”

Garrett looked like a smart boy, at least. He had some sharp features on his face, seemed humble, respectful, and once Jongin had made him feel welcome, he talked more confidently. So long he did not look at Adrian, who did not stop looking daggers at the poor boy the whole night.

“I’m going to fight him,” Adrian said when he slipped into the kitchen while Jongin was taking the roasted potatoes out of the oven.

“What?” he asked, glancing at his furious husband with a grimace.

“I’m going to fight him up real good,” Adrian grumbled, leaning against the sink counter.

“He’s tiny.”

“So?”

“He’s the size of your one leg, Adrian. Why are you going to fight him?”

“He’s taking our son away.”

“Whoa,” Jongin laughed. “No one’s taking our son away. He’s literally here for a dinner and because Nemo wanted us to get to know each other. Would you rather have him do this behind our backs without us knowing anything about the people he hangs out with? Do you want to be that kind of father, Adrian? Do you want him to keep secrets from us? Especially the ones that make him happy? The boy makes Nemo happy, Adrian. So, let’s support that, shall we? Besides, I like Garrett. An honour student, plays lacrosse, has a part-time job, has never killed any of his goldfish pets, so he’s responsible.”

“How do you know all this?!” Adrian screeched. “How much has Nemo told you about him?!”

Jongin placed the tray of potatoes on the kitchen island before he turned around to splay his fingers over his husband’s chest. “What I’m saying is that he’s one of the good ones. It could have been a lot worse. Nemo could have brought home a biker or one of those weird people walking around with a ferret around their necks.”

“You need to stop watching _Dateline_ ,” said Adrian. Then with a couple of heavy breaths, he said, “Okay. I won’t fight him.”

Jongin grinned. “Good. Now, let’s get back out there.”

As they wandered back into the living room, they froze momentarily when they saw Garrett leaning over Nemo, who in his wheelchair, to press a soft kiss to Nemo’s lips. Jongin’s face burned. He knew he had to be ‘evolved’ about all of this, but a part of him just wanted to turn back time and keep Nemo a baby.

At his side, Adrian was staring at them with his nostrils flaring.

“Dinner’s ready!” Jongin announced, grabbing hold of Adrian’s hand and squeezing it tightly.

~*~

 **Eleven**.

A chimera filled with happiness and joy.

One that was real in another fate.

It belonged to Jongin.


End file.
